Apple claims most of its chargers sold on Amazon were fakes

Apple customers often turn to Amazon as a source for replacement equipment, like chargers. But when they do, Apple claims they have a very good chance of buying something less than genuine Apple equipment.
The electronics giants has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oakland against Mobile Star LLC, accusing the firm of slapping the Apple name on chargers it sold on Amazon. According to Tech Times, the complaint claims that nearly 90% of the Apple chargers sold at the online retailer are fakes.
According to the report, Amazon was not named as a plaintiff in the suit. Instead, Apple's lawyers have accused Mobile Star of infringing on its trademark.
Here is an example of an Apple power adapter that, as of today, was being listed for sale on Amazon. However, it may not be one of the fakes, since the Tech Times report says Amazon has banned Mobile Star from selling on the site.
Besides the alleged trademark infringement, the lawsuit points to a safety issue.

Apple says consumers are not aware that non-Apple products that Amazon.com sourced from Mobile Star have not gone through Apple's safety certification program and may not even be properly constructed, lacking “adequate insulation and/or have inadequate spacing between low voltage and high voltage circuits, and pose a significant risk of overheating, fire, and electrical shock."
According to technology publisher IGM, Apple reportedly presented as evidence one Amazon customer review for one of the knock-off chargers that claimed it caught fire.

"The wild, cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage. He is in front of it."...Axel Munthe

Here is an example of an Apple power adapter that, as of today, was being listed for sale on Amazon. However, it may not be one of the fakes, since the Tech Times report says Amazon has banned Mobile Star from selling on the site.

If you follow that link, it takes you to a cute picture of an Amazon dog. I didn't know that's what they put on their "page not found" pages.

I needed a new charger or cord for my piece of crap iPod and I couldn't even find an actual Apple cord, even from the Apple website (which was probably just me being stupid), but all the products I ended up seeing on Amazon were Apple "compatible", so I did the best I could. Very messed up they could just slap a name on a less-safe product and sell it like that.

I'm not sure if there has ever been a case of a 1A or 2.1A Apple knockoff charger causing a fire. You can buy a knockoff lightning charger at "5 Below" for $5 instead of the $20 plus that Apple wants to charge you. But Apple does have a right to protect its intellectual property and exorbitantly high profit margin.

I'm not sure if there has ever been a case of a 1A or 2.1A Apple knockoff charger causing a fire. You can buy a knockoff lightning charger at "5 Below" for $5 instead of the $20 plus that Apple wants to charge you. But Apple does have a right to protect its intellectual property and exorbitantly high profit margin.

I always get my lightning cords at least 6' (sometimes 10' with an 90 degree angle end if I can find them in stock), so mine are never Apple logo-ed. I've never had a problem, except my puppy chewing through the cord (damn mutt). In fact, I'll only buy the braided ones for my son because he's a terrorist and breaks anything else. I'm a longtime Apple geek and all my hardware is Apple/Mac, but they're just too ridiculous to buy Apple accessories as well. I don't agree with stealing a logo though, no matter who it is.

I bought a charging cord on Amazon that killed my battery. I had to have it replaced back in June. This was right before Amazon banned all noncompliant chargers from being sold on their site. I should have filed a complaint or something.